License Mobility Rights

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

License mobility means either:

  • The right to move a licensed installation from one computer to another, especially for virtual machines, where a license allows a virtual machine to migrate from one physical host to another within a specific time frame. Typically, this includes relocating the software to different servers within a server farm (and server farms owned by your enterprise are distinct from outsourced servers in the cloud).
  • The right to deploy licensed software to third-party service providers, such as those offering a public or private cloud. (This is sometimes called “bring your own license”.)

For more information on software license mobility rights, see License Mobility Rights. Use this section to define rules on how license mobility rights are granted for licenses related to this contract. Select This contract grants license mobility rights to linked licenses and select any of the following options.

Controls

Controls Details
Time limit applies before licenses may be reassigned to another device (or, for user-based licenses, another user).

Select this check box when a license requires that a software installation must consume a license entitlement for a minimum period before the license is reassigned to a different computer (or user, for user-based license types). When this check box is selected, the following control is enabled to allow you to record the time limit. A typical example of such a time limit is the Microsoft 90-day rule.

Clear this check box when a license has no provisions limiting the reassignment of licenses over time.

Minimum days before reassignment

This control is enabled only when the check box above it is selected. Enter (or spin up) the number of days in the time limit required by this license. The default value is 90 days.

Eligible for use with cloud service providers

If this license permits use of the software on an external or outsourced hosting service (cloud service provider), ensure that this check box is selected. This arrangement is sometimes called “BYO license”, where you are contracting for infrastructure as a service, but still responsible for supplying (at least) this license for software you installed on your cloud-sourced server(s).

Software publishers may have special counting requirements when a license is consumed in the cloud. They may also have a list of eligible cloud vendors with which this license mobility provision comes into play. To ensure full compliance, you need to validate that the installation is hosted by a cloud vendor approved for this software.

The license agreement may also require current maintenance agreements (in the case of Microsoft, current Software Assurance covering all required licenses, including CALs and connector licenses). For Microsoft, the right to deploy software to cloud service providers is known as License Mobility through Software Assurance.

Software publishers may also require that an eligible license has been purchased under a specific purchasing agreement. For example, for IBM products, licenses must have been purchased under an IBM Passport Advantage agreement to be eligible for deployment to the cloud.

Tip: You should use this setting on the license in conjunction with the Located in a service provider’s datacenter (cloud) setting in the General tab of the properties for the virtual machines running software under this license.
Maximum virtual processors per license

This field is displayed for Microsoft Server Processor licenses, and intended for eligible products covered by Software Assurance. Check your license terms carefully.

This field is enabled only when the check box above it is selected. This figure is maximum number of virtual processors supporting an Operating System Environment (OSE) that may be covered by a single license. The default value is 0 , although other values (such as 4 ) may be set by templates from the PURL. As usual, software running on each OSE must be licensed separately; this value in this field increases the license liability for more powerful virtual machines. For example:

PVU limit applies

Displayed only for IBM PVU licenses, this check box is enabled only when the Eligible for use with cloud service providers check box above it is selected.

Some product licenses specify an upper limit of PVUs for each virtual instance. If your license specifies this, select this check box and complete the next field.

PVU entitlement limit

Displayed only for IBM PVU licenses, this control is enabled only when the PVU limit applies check box above it is selected.

When your license specifies an upper limit of PVUs for each EC2 instance, spin up or enter the limit value here.

Tip: This value is informational only, and not currently used in compliance calculations.

Maximum virtual cores per instance

Displays only for Oracle Processor licenses. When the software is running in the cloud, the licensing metric is the count of virtual cores assigned to the virtual machine, which may not exceed the maximum permitted by the license, and shown here. The displayed value may be initialized from your downloaded PURL. You may enter or spin up the appropriate value.

Number of cores per socket license

Displays only for Oracle Processor licenses. For products normally licensed by socket count, for deployment to the cloud a conversion is needed from virtual cores to equivalent sockets. For example, for Oracle Database Standard and Standard One editions, the conversion is four cores count as a single socket (with any fractional results rounded up). The displayed value may be initialized from your downloaded PURL. You may enter or spin up the correct value for your license.

Third-party users may use linked applications

Some licenses allow use of software by consultants, contractors, or employees working from home (possible on their own computers), typically using virtual devices. An example is the Microsoft Virtual Device Access license, which is a subscription license with a 1 year period. The 90-day rule applies to reassignment of this license.

For licenses such as these, select this check box. It is available for all license types.

Note: This control is informational only and is currently not taken into account in compliance calculations.

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

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